Phantasma
by DragonaVII
Summary: Link saved Hyrule after the whole 'Ocarina of Time' thing. But he can't remember what happened in his past, before the Deku Tree took him in. He wouldn't, he was a baby. But now he spaces out a lot with disturbing nightmares, and Link has some issues.
1. On a Dairy Run

Phantasma

By Dragona VII

My new story. Please let me know what ya think so far...I think I could do better, but then again...I'm my own worst critic.

Thank you all! But dang...I wish I could just _own_ Zelda...

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Chapter 1:

On a Dairy Run

...A massive beast cowers on the ground, when a tall, lean man holding a radiant Master Sword stands over him, ready to strike. A cry pain beyond imagination resonates throughout the kingdom of Hyrule as that man thrust the Master Sword into that beast, the Great King of Evil, thus ridding the world of that despicable, evil menace. Shortly after that, the handsome young man travelled back in time seven years to relive the childhood that he had missed...

However to Link, this was only a memory now. Today, eight years after his long adventure began, he was lounging lazily under a shady willow tree on the outskirts of his home, Kokiri Forest. It was a warm, beautiful day in peaceful Hyrule. The sky was clear, and summer sea air from Lake Hylia was wafting through the air, leading Link into an awaited nap. Navi, his fairy companion, was meandering into a snooze herself.

"Link! Wake up! Hey, wake up, sleepy-head!"Link jumped out of his little world and looked around at who had called him. When Link finally caught sight of who it was, he relaxed, and smiled at his good friend, Malon. "Oh, Malon. Hello, you startled me. Erm...what's up?"

Malon was in her usual attire. A long pink and white dress combined with a yellow bandana that hung around her neck. She also wore a brown apron while she was working at the ranch, but not today.

"Nothing's up. I was just delivering this milk," she pointed to a mule ni the distance with a load of several jugs of milk, "to Kakiriko Village. You wanna come?" As boring and lazy and these humid Hylian sumer days were, Link eagerly accepted. After all, he needed something to take his mind off his problems.

About twenty minutes later, a mule was heard clopping up the stairway to Kakiriko Village. Madame Beugh was sweeping the threshold of her house when Malon trotted up in the mule, Link walking ahead of them. She smiled and waved cordially as they passed, and she was welcomed in the same friendly manner. They stopped for a quick second to give Madame Beigh one of the jugs of milk, then said their goodbyes. Link's mind was drifting off again...

...A distressed woman was cowering in the shadow of a tall, dark figure, with shining orange eyes of deepest loathing. He was closing in on her, laughing maliciously, and then...

"Link, will you _please_ pay attention to what you're doing!" Link snapped back to reality. He had just noticed that he'd accidentally slammed into a lady that was just tending to her many cuckoos, who was now nervously picking up the bag of Cuckoo Feed she'd spilt. "Uh...oh, hey! Lemme help you!" Link bent down to assist the chicken lady, but she abruptly jumped back, her face flushed.

"Oh...um...no, ah, thanks...I mean..." She said in the smallest voice, obviously out of it. Link stuffed the last of the feed back into the bag amf handed it to her, but she suddenly turned away and bolted down the lane and into her house. Link took nte that her face was beet red. Yeah, Link was a little confused, so he let down the feed and continued leading Malon to wherever they were going.

"Hey Malon," Link said, turning around and walking backwards ot face her, "Where're we taking the rest of this stuff, anyways?" "To Impa's old house. You know, where that chicken lady and that weird guy live. What're their names? Something...Cass and Gille?...or Neopold..."

Malon really had no clue. Neither, really, did Link, but everybody seemed to know him. That sometimes creepes Link out a lot. Sometimes he would walk by a group of teenage girls he didn't know, and hear, "Hey, you know that Link guy? He's sooooooooooo cute!" If that weren't freaky enough, sometimes little kids would run up and say, "Hey, Link! I know you! My mommy knows you! Do you know my mommy!" Real idiotic crap like that.

This was why, in Link's opinion, the friends he already had were good enough. It seemed only the people that really knew him or the guys that were just jealous of him would leave him be and not flirt or goggle at him...except for the occasional guy...which really _really _scared Link.

Anyway, up the stairs to Impa's former home they went and Malon got off her mule. The mule seemed relieved when Malon heaved the other five jugs off of it, so it sat down in the grass. She lugged the hefty containers towards the door before Link could offer help, and ended up dropping them noisily on the ground. A couple even tumbled right back down the stairs.

"Malon, let me help you with that," Link said, squatting down beside Malon. "Thanks, Link. Appreciate it. I've just been so clumsy today." She grinned at him thankfully and started lifting a very large carton of milk. Unfortunately for her, being as 'clumsy' as she was today, she tripped on her own dress, sending both her and Link tumbling down the stairs like a sack of rocks.

When Link opened his eyes and saw Malon's face staring at him in shock, hardly an inch away from his, he hollered something similar to a duck and tried to scramble to his feet as gracefully as possible, but accidentally slammed Malon into a crate in the process.

He just stood there, perplexed and embarassed. Bystanders laughed at the comical couple, and a couple of guys ran over to point and laught their heads off at the two. Link was blushing fiercely when he bent down for Malon's hand to help her up, but she snatched her hand away, looking angry and humiliated.

Malon stood up on the own, her face red with furt at Link. "_You_, Link! _You_ are the BIGGEST JERK I have ever met! I _NEVER_ want to see you again, EVER!" With that, she turned on her heel and darted back towards the ranch, leaving the milk and her mule behind, and with tears streaming down her face.

Link just gaped at her as she left, leaving him to feel extremely awkward in the middle of a crowd of spectators. His mind couldn't comprehend what had just happened...what did he do, again? Finally, Link realized that everyone was staring at him, and he just kind of...sprinted away to the closest exit and away from all the accusatory faces...

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Yay, chapter one is done...please review! I'd greatly love you all for it! I love all the reviewers for my other fic too! Thank you:) 


	2. Late Night Burglary

Phantasma

By Dragona VII

Chapter 2:

Late Night Burglary

Halfway up Death Mountain, Link started contemplating what went wrong.../Okay,\ he thought to himself. /Let's see...I followed her to the house...we walked up the stairs...but first there was the chicken lady...hmmmm...\

Link saw a boulder outside Goron City and chose to sit against it. He continued his thinking, his bright blue eyes fixed in concentration and his chin resting on his knees.

/She dropped the cartons of milk...yeah...and then she pushed me over the side of the stairs...I'm gonna feel that tomorrow...and I went to help her up...and...uhh...\

..._The field was on fire. Lon Lon Ranch emitted huge flames as both humans and beasts ran, looking for safety and family alike. All Link could hear were screams of uttermost terror, and smell the scorching wood of the once beautiful ranch. He tried to run towards the ranch/I have to help them...\ but his legs wouldn't let him move...as if they were rooted into the ground._

_...Suddenly, a dark, demented figure rose into the air, hovering over the ranch, and laughing sadistically. Link watched in horror as he watched onward, helpless to help. The entire ranch collapsed, and heard a final, earsplitting scream from a familiar voice. Link felt one single, warm tear crawl down his cheek, and then...it went dark..._

Link woke up screaming and covered in cold sweat from his terrible nightmare. He didn't know where he was at first, and it took him a minute to adjust to the dimming light. /Good, I'm still outside Goron City. That was a weird nightmare...or was it a nightmare...?\ He thought to himself. /It seemed so real.\

He looked out at the orange horizon, watching the setting sun. Then Link decided. He needed help. Professional advice from a close _guy_ friend that would not blush at him or make him feel awkward teeling him his most demented problems.

But who? Darunia was his first thought, but he was nowhere accessible. He knew he could talk to Darunia's son, Link, but he was still way too young to understand or help him that much.

His next thought was the dude at the fishing pond...but he didn't really _know_ Link. He just begged for Link to go fishing once in a while so he wouldn't go out of business. His next thought--Link actually shuddered--was King Zora. /Yeah, right,\ Link thought/He'd only stick me in a straight jacket that much faster. No offense, Ruto, but your dad's a smackhead.\ He laughed to himself a little.

Link started making his way back down the dirt path towards Kakiriko Village. If he could, he _would_ talk to Princess Zelda. Sure, she was a girl, and most girls would swoon over his perfect body, silky smooth golden locks, and beautiful endless pools of azure blue, but _Zelda_ was different.

_Zelda_ could carry a full conversation with Link, keeping a straight face, and not blush, or stutter, or concede to flirting. Link reallt appreciated that. _Really_ _really_ appreciated it. And besides all that, she was one of the most intelligent people he knew.

But, he could not talk to her. Unless, of course, he poofed back to the Sacred Realm for some odd, god foresaken reason.

Link kept thinking about various people he might be able to confide in.../Mido...? No _way_...\ Link actually laughed aloud at that one. Mido didn't even know he was alive. He lust figured Link was some criminal from Hyrule that was exiled and forced to live in the forest.

That brought his thoughts to his best friend, Saria. He could talk to her...if he still had the Ocarina of Time, of course, which he didn't. Zelda had taken that away and left for parts unknown. Everything was rigged against him.

/Malon? No...she ran away...crying...I know I'll have to apologize to her sometime...but it may not be easy. I've never hurt anyone's feelings before, let alone one of my closest friends.\

Then it came. Link started reminiscing about the nightmare he had. The one where the ranch--Malon's home--had collapsed with seemingly _somebody_ inside. Somebody familiar. /What was that all about, anyway? Yeesh...I've gotta get rid of those soon...\

Link reached Kakiriko Village in what seemed like forever. He hoped nobody was outside now, and there probably wasn't. The sun was gone now, replaced by placid turquoises and billions of stars that twinkled and winked at Link.

Besides, even without any evil threatening the safety of the small town, the residents were still too afraid to venture out after dark. Cautiously, he passs the open gate, making sure no one was in sight. Feeling safe in the darkness, with only the moonlight to guide him, Link sneaked acroos the backyards towards Hyrule field.

Link sneaked, and as he began to pass through the backyard of the Bazaar a low cloud covered the moon, destroying the little light. When Link got the notion that maybe, just _maybe_, he could make a run for it, he heard a huge crash inside the Bazaar next to him and every light in the entire village switched on. Suddenly, a large figure burst out of the Bazaar and very ungracefully ran towards Link, stopping about ten feet away. Link figured it was the Bazaar owner--and it was, no man in all Hyrule was that fat--but why was he out so late?

The Bazaar owner, Link noticed, was clad in only his night shorts. That scared Link, (and it would scare you too, if you were there, cuz this guy's the fattest and harriest guy in all the land). Link was about to say hello and whatnot when he suddenly got the recieving end of a +loaded+ shotgun arrogantly shoved in his face.

/Wha...?\ "Hey! Don't shoot!" Link shouted, as Madame Beigh burst out of her house, followed by nearly everyone else in town, most wearing their pajamas. Link stood frozen with fear as an audience accumulated around them.

"'Ey, thar!" The Bazaar owner hollered, obviously very drunk. "'O are ye, tresspassin' in the wee 'ours o' night? Whatcha thievin'!" The huge man staggered forward in the darkness and prodded Link in the neck with his gun, ready to shoot. Soon, the other shop owner next door came bursting out, fully clothed/Thank the Goddesses,\ Link thought, and holding a shiny brand-new pistol, also pointing the weapon at Link.

The skinny potion shop owner swaggered over to his companion, holding a half empty bottle in his other hand. "'Ey, you...hic!...kid! Where're ya...hic!...goin' widdat...hic!...merhandice!" /Okay...this guy's definately off his rocker, drunk besides, and probably shouldn't even be in possession of a weapon of any kind, but whatever...what kind of ward is 'merhandice'?\

"Hey!" Link started to explain, "I'm not robbing anybody!" Despite Link's truthful excuse, he only recieved a malicious grunt from the fat, slightly smelly man. "Argh, then wha' were ye doin' in me yard, eh? Pickin' daisies?" Link was really getting nowhere with this, and he had to do something, or else.

Thankfully, Madame Beigh trotted over in her nightgown and slippers, holding a lantern. "Well, now, innocent until proven guilty, Martin." "Bu' Molly--" the Bazaar owner started, when he was interrupted. "No but's now, ya hear? Let us just see who ya lil' thief is 'fore we go shootin' 'im."

She slowly walked up to the boy and held the lantern to his face, making Link squint slightly. "Why, _my_! It ain't no _thief_, Martin! It's just little ol' Link! I doubt the poor boy'd ever steal a button, if it suited 'im! Now you just run along home, there, and be careful not to give us any more _scares_!"

Link nodded politely and quickly looked over everybody, to make sure he could leave. He noticed the cuckoo lady from earlier--however, she caught his eyes, blushed deeply, and ran back into her house. /Crazy broad.\

He shot off towards Hyrule field and burst through the doorway of his home minutes later. He caught his breath as he slipped out of his tunic and into his nightshirt, all the while secretly blessing Madame Beigh. Goddesses know that if she hadn't showed up, his brains might've been the Bazaar's new paintjob.

He shrugged it off and climbed into his comfy bed, yawning widely. He didn't care much that he almost got his brains blasted out...that was the least of his worries. For it was time for bed, and the only thing about this time that Link freaded were the nightmares...they claimed his dreams every night, and taunted his mind every day.

He began to hope that Navi would return from her family soon...he needed her. He began contemplating this as he curled up and reluctantly allowed sleep to claim him once again.


End file.
